Previously in this series we discussed the benefit and value of using the most up-to-date browsers available. We looked at some main reasons covering Reliability and Security, Performance and Technology as well as Comfort and Style . And if you weren’t using a modern browser, we hope we persuaded you into upgrading your “recalled” versions. If nothing else, after reading this series, you won’t get another vehicle without thinking, “Maybe I need to update my browser, too.”

This part of the series is the nuts and bolts of it: some facts and figures to help you gauge your personal browser situation; options for choosing the modern browser that is best for you and links and information for entering the current decade of browsers. At the end of this post, we will provide the author’s personal recommendations as well as FNC’s browser recommendations for our portal products (AppraisalPort®, InspectionPort®, and TitlePort®) in advance of FNC technology and functionality updates.

First, some facts and figures, and some of these will be more eye-opening than others. For personal users, getting modern shouldn’t be that difficult. Assuming you are using an operating system (OS) that supports a current browser and you can essentially choose which you want, it’s just a matter of picking one, downloading and installing it. If you are hoping to get modern at the office, a few questions need to be addressed and sometimes the answer is out of your control. Corporate and enterprise infrastructures are usually robust, complicated and expensive to maintain, so while upgrading to a modern browser may seem easy enough, it can be difficult or even impossible if systems currently in place don’t support new browsers or limit the browsers you can choose from. Policies vary, but here are some things to consider when upgrading at the office.

• Does your office require everyone to use the same browser?
• Does your browser need to be installed and configured by another department?
• Is your current enterprise operating system outdated, thus preventing the use of some modern browsers?

You may not be able to answer these questions, but someone should be able to provide some information about how your corporate setup is structured as well as what you can and cannot do per basic policy. I recommend you ask, and maybe suggest that your efficiency could be improved by updating to newer browsers.

FACTS ABOUT WINDOWS XP, VISTA, AND 7:

• Windows Vista failed at fully replacing XP. XP continues to be used by several individuals and corporations.
• Although Vista has improved, there is a general perception that it’s a poor OS and only Windows 7 or 8.1 will offer a viable upgrade path.
• Microsoft will stop supporting XP April 8, 2014.
• Mainstream support for Vista has ended. Extended support ends in 2017.
• Windows 7 Service Pack support has ended. Mainstream support ends Jan. 13, 2015.

• IE6 is 13 years old. Support for it will end when XP support ends.
• IE7 is 8 years old.
• IE8 is 5 years old.
• IE8 is the last version of Internet Explorer to be supported on Windows XP.
• IE9 is 3 years old, the first since IE2 not to be bundled with an OS. Also, it is the first IE browser to offer limited CCS3 and HTML5 capability. (That said, limited.)
• IE9 is not supported on Windows XP or earlier.
• IE10 is 2 years old and is the default browser in Windows 8. IE10 expands on Internet Explorer 9 functionality in regard to CSS3 support, hardware acceleration, and HTML5 support.
• IE11 was released October 2013 and is compatible with Windows 7 and 8.1.

SOME STATISTICS:

Next, let’s look at some browser statistics. While you may have a preference for one browser over another — or again, your corporation determines which browser you can you use — looking at browser usage trends is often a good indication of the value each one represents to users across the board.

The browsers listed in the statistics links below are for the top five browsers in use today (though many new browsers are popping up). These browser comparison figures do not take into account all versions, but I’ve provided links to the individual browser version stats as well. The majority (if not all) of the latest versions of these top five browsers are available on most operating system platforms — at least ones still being supported.

In January of 2014 Chrome was leading the way with 55.7 percent in browser usage, followed by Firefox at 26.9 percent; Internet Explorer at 10.2 percent; Safari at 3.9 percent and Opera at 1.8 percent.1

Internet Explorer usage has dropped about four percent in the last year and about 10 percent over two years to just 10.2 percent, while Chrome’s usage has more than doubled since 2010 to make it now, by far, the leading browser used today. What’s interesting is that 30 percent of IE’s usage is still on IE8, suggesting that those upgrading older IE browsers are completely moving on to other browsers altogether. IE8 should lose some percentage points to IE10 and IE11 as XP support comes to an end.

So, which browser is best? Really, the answer to this question will come down to personal preference. All the modern browsers are viable solutions when comparing them to older browsers and you simply want something more up-to-date that will render today’s websites and applications the way they were meant to be rendered.

The products most people are likely to have heard of — Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Firefox — all have fresh, clean interfaces. But each browser has its own set of features and specialties which makes it unique. Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 11 excels at graphics hardware acceleration, and according to PC News (March 2014), is also the only 64-bit program of those three, as well as the only one that includes robust tracking protection against site code that tracks browsing activity.

Chrome is the leader in cutting-edge technologies like voice response, private browsing (which is becoming a standard on all browsers of late) and also includes several extensions to make your specific browsing needs faster and more efficient — check out the Chrome store.

Firefox also has a slew of extensions available that let you customize the browser beyond what’s possible with the others. Like customizing your car’s interior? Firefox has a ton of browser skins available to suit your specific design tastes.

Basically, though, no single browser will always be perfect for all your needs, but again, along as you’re getting and staying up-to-date with a modern version, you have several excellent choices. It’s just a matter of deciding what’s most important to you. For me, it’s Chrome.

AUTHOR RECOMMENDATIONS:

(Note: These browsers are compatible in most instances on Windows, Linux and Mac unless otherwise specified.)

For those of you using a Windows operating system and who prefer, or whose corporate policy requires, the use of Internet Explorer:

• If you are not migrating away from XP now, you should be.
• Windows 7 and 8.1 should be viable options, while 8.1 is recommended.
• IE9 is supported on Windows 7 and 8.1, but if you are already using these operating systems, consider upgrading your browser to the most up-to-date version of Internet Explorer — IE10 or IE11.

For those of you using Windows 7 or 8.1, with the freedom to choose a current browser of your preference:

* Chrome (20.0.1105.0), released two years ago, supports Windows 8.1 all the way back to XP Service Pack 2. ** Mozilla (the creator of Firefox) suggests you don’t use older versions of Firefox with Windows 7 or 8.1, and even goes so far as to tell you to use the latest versions of Chrome, Safari or Opera instead of downgrading.

For those of you using a Mac, with the freedom to choose a current browser of your preference:

About the author: Jason Verlangieri, Creative Director, Web & Graphic Designer, UX Thought Leader
I’m focused on creative direction, brand identity and print, web and user experience design. I have spent more than 20 years designing and am still driven by new challenges every day. The technological canvas we work with changes daily, and so must the design solutions we create. I’m inspired by creative innovation and the users we solve problems for.

Previously in this four-part series about older browser versions: We discussed the parallels between how we choose our vehicles and how we can use the same criteria when choosing to update to modern browsers. In Part I and Part II, we looked specifically at the criteria Reliability and Security as well as Performance and Advanced Technology. Last but not least, and because we all like to have our cake and eat it too, let’s look just for a moment at Comfort and Style.

As I’ve mentioned before, there are many modern web browsers available and they come in a variety of colors and options, and (any corporate or enterprise requirements aside) you aren’t really limited to just one and there really isn’t a best. Modern browsers, while they all offer unique options and features, perform light years ahead of their older counterparts. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and even Internet Explorer, just to name a few, all have modern browsers worth looking at and it will really just come down to your personal preference (or as mentioned before, any corporate or enterprise requirements at work). Maybe you’re a Microsoft loyalist and prefer to keep your OS and browser in the same family; maybe you prefer all of Chrome’s additional features like Mail, Hangouts, Calendar and Play; or maybe you own a Mac and prefer Safari, with its cloud syncing. Regardless of your preference, all modern browsers provide the things you need to care about: Ease of updates, performance and speed; security; and desktop and mobile consistency. Yes, mobile consistency. Let’s look at that a little more closely.

Recent reports show that nearly 30 percent of all web traffic originates on some kind of mobile phone or tablet and we can expect that number to increase with advances in mobile technology as well as in devices that are meant to get you connected anywhere, anytime. But with that comes the challenge to web developers and technology providers to serve up consistent experiences across all of those devices as well in your desktop environments. Don’t you want your desktop experience to be consistent with your mobile experience? Of course you do. A main part of that solution is browsers, and modern browsers are being made to work the same across desktops and devices. We’ve discussed the difficulties and inefficiencies of having to maintain sites and applications for both modern and older browsers; now just compound that task if we have to also take devices into consideration.

With advances in rendering technology such as HTML5 and responsive design solutions, providers can build and deploy a single codebase that works the same across all your browsers. The functionality, the experience, the look and feel — it can all be consistent by using modern development technology and modern browsers. Even some of your favorite mobile apps use embedded modern browsers to help render their information. What does it say that your tablet or phone renders a site faster and with more functionality than your desktop browser? It says you need to update your desktop browser to a modern version. Phones and tablets aren’t as old as our computers may be, so they’ve come to the showroom floor fully equipped to handle the speed and performance of technologically advanced websites. Unfortunately, on your older desktop or laptop, the power to upgrade your browser, and in some instances your OS, is completely up to you or your enterprise teams.

In summary, the bottom line is that web technology changes faster than you can imagine (daily in some instances) and the vehicles we use to access that technology also needs to evolve. Just as the vehicles we physically drive need to evolve to our demands for better performance, safety and comfort, so do the tools we use to reach our web destinations. So the next time you complain about a site loading too slowly, or functionality not working properly, or your information isn’t secure, or you simply don’t have some of those cool features like tabbed browsing, don’t blame your technology provider or a website owner — check out the browser recall notices. There is a free, modern browser out there designed to work with the sites and tools you use every day that’s perfect and waiting for you. And leave that jalopy to the junkyard.

Recapping just the facts:

• Modern browsers provide a better, more feature-rich and more consistent user experience.
• Modern browsers offer much better performance and security.
• Modern browsers essentially update themselves.
• Technology providers can deploy new products, functionality, and features more quickly and with greater confidence when not having to concern themselves with coding and testing for outdated browser compatibility.
• Technology providers can use techniques that work well not only in a computer browser, but also on mobile devices.
• Older browsers do not work with modern technologies and functionality.
• Some older browser and operating systems are no longer supported by their creators.
• Some older operating systems do not support modern browsers.

Coming soon: Don’t forget to check out the summary of this series, where we’ll break down some modern browser options, some pros and cons, some usage statistics, some links for more information and how to easily get up and running with a modern browser or two.

–About the author: Jason Verlangieri, Creative Director, Web & Graphic Designer, UX Thought Leader
I’m focused on creative direction, brand identity and print, web and user experience design. I have spent more than 20 years designing and am still driven by new challenges every day. The technological canvas we work with changes daily, and so must the design solutions we create. I’m inspired by creative innovation and the users we solve problems for.

Previously in this four-part series about older browser versions: We discussed the parallels between how we choose our vehicles and how we can use the same criteria when choosing to update to modern browsers. In Part I, we looked specifically at the criteria Reliability and Security.

Now, let’s take a look at performance and advanced technology. Wow, think about cars today compared to those from just a couple of years ago: more efficient gas mileage, all-electric options, dynamic steering and braking, improved aerodynamics, heads-up displays, auto-sensing wipers, real-time weather and traffic reports, touchscreen displays, voice-controlled consoles, connectivity and a lot more. Pretty impressive and appealing, aren’t they? Well, modern browsers offer the same types of improvements and advances in technology that older browser just can’t compete with, and in many instances, don’t even support.

For example, when is the last time you waited for a webpage to load, or complained it (the internet, a site, or your browser) was too slow? Well, did you know older browsers are considerably slower than modern browsers? Even if the pages you are loading were made to load much faster using newer technologies, your older browser could be causing them to creep. For example, Internet Explorer 7 and 8 can load pages approximately five times slower than their modern counterparts. That’s five times slower, or close to half a minute for pages that should take seconds! Now, calculate that across all the pages you need to view or more importantly, actions or work you need to accomplish in a day. If a routine task in your workday required 10 minutes to complete over a few pages of an application in a modern browser, are you really content spending almost an hour instead just because your browser is slow? You could upgrade to three different modern browsers in half that time. You are less efficient and your performance is suffering, period. There is no question modern browsers are designed to perform faster, better and more efficiently, especially considering the new technology behind the pages being written for them. Just curious. When was the last time you got your car’s oil changed or replaced a filter? Any particular reason why?

What is advanced technology? Well, if your car has a touchscreen display in it, if it brakes before you are aware you need to brake or prevents you from texting while driving, you know what advanced technology is. And even if you haven’t made the leap to advanced technology in your vehicle yet, can you plug your iPhone or other device into an auxiliary jack and listen to music? I can’t even do that with my 2004 SAAB 9-3 (10 years old!). Advanced technology is what pushes us to be faster, more efficient and perform better; it’s what makes our vehicles more reliable, safer and more enjoyable to drive; it’s what makes the internet more reliable, safer and enjoyable to use, but only if we’re driving a modern browser.

Websites and web applications are being built using advanced technology to deliver you the information you need faster and more efficiently, using fewer resources on their end and yours, but the benefits are only gained when they are coupled with browsers designed to work with those newer technologies. The functionality you ask for (or even demand); the speed you require to stay ahead of the curve at work or in the loop in the social web; and the security you’re entitled to are limited by the versions of your browsers. Even your service provider’s ability to get updated functionality to you faster and more often is affected. Remember those auto-updates I mentioned earlier? Did you know most modern browsers update themselves every day and without your even realizing it, and if you notice the update it’s a simple browser close and reopen? Gone are the days of downloading and installing an entirely new browser to replace the old one every time there’s an update. I bet your car doesn’t update that way yet.

And speaking of updates, your service providers can deploy new products, functionality and features more quickly and with greater confidence when not having to concern themselves with coding and testing for outdated browser compatibility. Imagine if your car manufacturer continued developing new technologies and had to contend with making sure those improvements could be installed on every vehicle they’ve made for the last 13 years — and then supporting them all on top of that. 2015’s model may not be on the lot in the summer of 2014 anymore and those limited recalls would be filling your mailboxes a lot more often. It just doesn’t make sense, does it?

Stay tuned for Part III, in which we’ll take comfort, style and consistency into consideration when choosing a modern browser.

—About the author: Jason Verlangieri, Creative Director, Web & Graphic Designer, UX Thought Leader
I’m focused on creative direction, brand identity and print, web and user experience design. I have spent more than 20 years designing and am still driven by new challenges every day. The technological canvas we work with changes daily, and so must the design solutions we create. I’m inspired by creative innovation and the users we solve problems for.

This is a four-part series focusing on internet browsers. Parts I, II and III focus on the importance of using the most up-to-date modern browsers; the benefits of doing so and the risks of using unsupported versions. The series summary focuses on how you can update your browser as easily as possible and includes some specific information to help you decide which browser to use. To check what browser you are currently using, head on over to whatbrowser.org. You can check your current version and upgrade to newer ones if necessary.

Part I

This four-part post isn’t about which browser is the best of the modern browsers — and there are currently more than 11 browser brands to choose from — arguments and tests abound as to which is the fastest and the safest; and, depending on who administered those tests, the results vary. No, this post isn’t about which browser you should be using; it’s about the older browser versions you shouldn’t be using.

What if I told you that on average, car owners upgrade their car every six years, up from every four years about a year ago, but that some web browsers still on the internet highway are more than 13 years old? So let me get this straight. We upgrade our vehicle and lay down a serious financial investment (not to mention a serious chunk of time in most cases) twice as often as we upgrade our free web browsers?

I know, I know, how can I compare a car to a web browser? Well, I agree that’s apples and oranges on the surface, but let’s look at the similarities as to how we choose our cars and how we should choose our browsers.

Of the top ten reasons people choose a car, the number one reason is reliability and durability. Interesting — should I consider reliability and durability when choosing a browser? Reasons two and three have to do with comfort and style. OK, I know you’re wondering what correlation I could possibly make here. Well, wait for it. Next in the list: Performance and advanced technology. These should be a no-brainer when it comes to your browser. And last, but certainly not least, of the top reasons: Safety. You betcha — your out-of-date browser is as big a safety (security) risk as that jalopy you keep around to teach the kids about oil changes, filters and belts.

Let’s take a closer, combined look at reliability and security; performance and advanced technology; as well as comfort and style.

Reliability and Security. This should be first on your list of reasons to stay up to date. I think we all know what this means when it comes to our cars (or bikes, or shoes), but what about our browsers? Reliability is the ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. When our cars stop performing required, expected functions we get them fixed, at least until the cost of that repair exceeds the value of the vehicle or the availability of newer technology we desire simply isn’t available on older models.

An unfortunate problem with some browsers is that they can’t be fixed, but are updated. In cases of browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Safari where the updates occur automatically, sometimes upwards of 70 times a day, those updates are often transparent to the user. Usually the only time a user knows when those browsers are updated is when they launch a major update or simply require you to restart your browser so new updates can take effect.

When a major browser update is launched, users should seriously consider upgrading. According to a study Firefox conducted when they released an update to Version 3, the two main reasons users didn’t upgrade were that they were content with the current version or that they had no time to upgrade. If you have time to fix or upgrade your vehicle every four to six years, you have time to update your browser.

Security is the degree of resistance to, or protection from, harm. Just like vehicles that continue to improve safety while in your vehicle (ABS, rear view cameras, parking assist, advanced seat restraint systems, crumple zones, blind spot awareness notifications, etc.), modern web browsers strive to protect you against all sorts of attacks, prevent annoying pop-ups, disable visibility into your browsing habits, provide secure password keychains, etc. Assuming a browser you installed ten years ago offers you the same security as a modern browser would be like assuming that clunker you drove in high school would provide your kids the same security and safety as a five-star safety-rated car of today.

Would you ignore a recall on your brakes or child-safety restraints? Of course you wouldn’t. So why, then, do we not take browser recalls just as seriously? The problem exists in our inherent understanding of an update. For many of us, it’s a non-required, time-consuming, sometimes scary task that looks like just another case of big browsers battling for user-share. For others, it’s a corporate or enterprise issue that is tied to site-wide operating systems and/or other corporate infrastructure, which makes upgrading difficult, tedious and seemingly too time-consuming.

Whether a browser has hundreds of little automatic updates or a major update, the update is essentially a recall of the current browser. The reliability and security of the current browser version have been compromised. Every day, major browser, software and operating system providers as well as third-party developers are developing new technologies, standards of practice and security protocols to improve and protect users’ experiences and information. A browser update, or recall, is a response to new demands that are driven by us as users, as well as to new and evolving threats. By ignoring an update or choosing to be content with what you think is still working, you are essentially restricting yourself from newer, better experiences; advanced functionality and improved services from your site or application providers. Not to mention, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to existing and new threats and attacks on your information, while — and this is the kicker — sometimes losing any reasonable expectation of support or recourse from your browser provider. To be as clear as possible, while this quote comes from Google, all major providers offer similar language when they release browser updates: “Each time a new version is released, we’ll begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version.” Interesting to note here: It’s not unheard of for Chrome to go through three versions in a year.

Stay tuned for Part II, in which we’ll take a look at performance and advanced technology.

—About the author: Jason Verlangieri, Creative Director, Web & Graphic Designer, UX Thought Leader
I’m focused on creative direction, brand identity and print, web and user experience design. I have spent more than 20 years designing and am still driven by new challenges every day. The technological canvas we work with changes daily, and so must the design solutions we create. I’m inspired by creative innovation and the users we solve problems for.